From Rome to Byzantium: Constantinople
In 330 Emperor Constantine made a new capital at the old town of Byzantium and named it Constantinople. In 395 the Roman empire was divided into a Western and an Eastern half. In 476 the West fell to invaders, but the East lived on. Historians later called this eastern empire Byzantine, though its people called themselves Romans.
Constantinople stood on a strait joining the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, so trade between Europe and Asia passed it. Great walls on the land side kept it safe for a thousand years.
Justinian: laws, buildings and conquests
Justinian ruled from 527 to 565 with his wife Theodora. In 532 a crowd rose against him (the Nika riots) and he put it down. Then he:
- had old Roman laws gathered and cleaned into the Code of Justinian (Corpus Juris Civilis). Many European laws later used it.
- rebuilt Hagia Sophia (537), with a huge dome.
- sent his general Belisarius to win back North Africa and parts of Italy. These wars and a plague in 541 left the empire poor.
Byzantine culture
The common language became Greek. The faith was Christianity of the Eastern kind (Orthodox); in 1054 it separated from the Church of Rome. Artists made mosaics from tiny coloured stones and glass, and painted holy pictures called icons. Churches had domes. Scholars copied Greek and Roman books. When Europe was poorer in learning, these copies later helped the Renaissance. Byzantine ideas also travelled to Russia and the Balkans.
Decline and fall (1453)
After Justinian the empire lost land to Persians, Arabs, Slavs and later Turks. In 1204 Crusaders even sacked Constantinople. In 1453 the Ottoman ruler Mehmed II took the city with large cannons, and the empire ended. The city became Istanbul. Try it: use the slider in the 3D to see the empire's size fall.
Key formulas and definitions
- Roman empire split: 395; West fell: 476; East ended: 1453
- Capital: Constantinople (founded as capital 330)
- Justinian: 527–565; Code, Hagia Sophia (537), reconquest
- Language: Greek; faith: Eastern (Orthodox) Christianity
- Culture: mosaics, icons, domed churches, copying of books
Worked examples
1. Why was Constantinople a good place for a capital?
It stood on a narrow strait between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, so trade between Europe and Asia passed through it. Water on three sides and strong walls made it easy to defend.
2. Why is the Code of Justinian important today?
It gathered Roman laws in an orderly way. Later European countries used it as a base for their own laws, so its ideas, like written rules for all, live on.
3. Roman West fell in 476 but the East lasted until 1453. How many years did the East last after the West fell?
1453 − 476 = 977 years.
Common mistakes
- Saying the Byzantines called themselves 'Byzantines'. They thought of themselves as Romans.
- Mixing the dates: 395 split, 476 West fell, 1453 East fell.
- Thinking Justinian won everything back. His wars cost much and the gains did not last.
- Saying Hagia Sophia is a Roman building from the 100s. It was rebuilt in 537 under Justinian.